Peter Voisey was locked up for life after carrying out one of the North East’s most terrifying and shocking crimes 20 years ago – and now he could be freed from prison
The fate of the notorious bath snatch rapist Peter Voisey could be determined next month. The repugnant predator was sentenced to life imprisonment after committing one of the North East’s most horrifying and shocking crimes two decades ago.
But now, he coud be about to be released as his sixth parole hearing looms. It was just a couple of days after Christmas when Voisey entered a home in Willington Quay, Wallsend, and abducted a little girl from her bath, where she had been innocently playing with her toys.
The beast then drove the child away before subjecting her to two appalling sexual assaults, subsequently abandoning her naked and crying for her mum in a dark, icy back lane. Voisey was convicted of rape, sexual assault and abduction at Newcastle Crown Court, with jurors moved to tears as they heard about the little girl’s harrowing ordeal.
As he received a life sentence, with a minimum term of 10 years, Judge David Hodson warned Voisey that he might never be set free. However, a Parole Board panel will determine if he is safe to be released back into society following a hearing next month.
This will mark Voisey’s sixth parole review, reports Chronicle Live.
A representative for the Parole Board stated: “An oral hearing has been listed for the parole review of Peter Voisey and is scheduled to take place in February. Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.
“A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.
“Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing. Evidence from witnesses including probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements are then given at the hearing.
“The prisoner and witnesses are then questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more. Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.”
On the evening of 27 December 2005, sex predator Voisey sneaked into the flat to abduct his victim. He covered her mouth so she couldn’t cry out to her mum, who was tucking her sibling into bed at the time.
Voisey then forced the girl into his red Vauxhall Astra car, subjecting her to two sexual assaults. Following a 15-minute ordeal, Voisey abandoned the youngster in a back alley mere streets from her home.
The frightened schoolgirl was discovered by kind-hearted local Geoffrey Brown, who heard her sobbing behind his house in Armstrong Road. He scooped her up and brought her inside from the bitter cold before calling police.
Voisey was connected to the assault after leaving partial footprints on the damp bathroom floor whilst sneaking into the family’s home via the rear entrance. He insisted he had been purchasing cannabis during the abduction.
However, his mates refused to support his fabrications, causing his alibi to crumble. Officers also seized his diary, which contained an entry for 27 December stating: “Phew, it’s over. Chill now.”
Voisey’s vile crime plunged the Willington Quay community into terror and left his victim deeply scarred.